Pipe attachment for steam on knitting machines



Non 4l 1924. F. MCENANEY PIPE ATTACHMENT FOR STEAM ON KNITTING MACHINES Filed DeG. 13, 1923 ,NAN

Patented N ov. "1924.

UN1TED sTATEs OWEN F. MCENANEY, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

yPIPE ATTACHMENT FOR STEAM 0N KNITTING- MACHINES.

Application led December 13, 1923.

To. all whom. t may oncern Be itknown that I, OWEN F. MCENANEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State 0f New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in a Pipe Attachment for Steam on Knitting Machines, of which vthe following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide improved means for moistening artificial fiber silk before it is knitted into cloth by steam on knitting machines, whereby a finer fabric can be produced and the machines can be run faster and more production Obtained, and particularly to improve upon my former Patent No. 1,460,972.

I attain the Objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of same; gig. 2 is a vertical section through same: an

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Like numerals indicate like of the several views.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I provide a moistening device consisting of a. narrow cylindrical wall 9 and a spaced inner cylindrical wall v10 with cap members 11 at the top and bottom of these walls, forming aclosed annular chamber '12 into which steam is supplied through the inlet 13 from the steam supply pipe 7 which supports the device and through which steam is supplied from suitable steam pipes suitably arranged on the knitting machine. The inner annular wall 10 is provided withopenings 15 through which the steam is admitted to the central chamber 16 from which it flows upward and moistens the thread 5 which is aligned with but spaced above the central chamber 16. I` provide a horizontal parts in each support 2O by means of which the cylindrlcal thread guide chamber 2'1'is aixed to thev moistening device vwall 9. The thread guide chamber 21 is provided with guide plug 22 of suitable material, such as porcelain, at each end, these plugs having thread channels23 extending through them, as shown in Fig. 2. I provile-an angular arm 24 aixed to the outer wall 9`"of\.t he

lrnoistening device and disposed opposite thread guide chamber 21 and offset from the moistemng device and carrying the thread guide 250i Suitable material, such as porce-V Serial No. 680,415.

lain, this thread guide member having la thread guide channel 26 extending throughv it, as shown in Fig. 2. I provide a drain spout 19 opening out of steam chamber 12 to drain oli the water condensed from the steam.

In use, the threaded steam inlet 13 of the thread moistening device is screwed onto the end of the steam supply pipe 7 at suitable parts of the knitting machine and steam flows into the chamber 12 and thence through openingsl 15 into central chamber 16 and thence upward, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2 onto the thread 5 moistening it as it is drawn past the moistening device from the thread guide 22 to the thread guide 25.

Anysuitable number of the moistening devices are arranged around the main frame of the knitting'machine and threads are fed from the bobbins through suitable wire guides to the thread guides 21. The steam flowing onto the threads 5 from the chamber 16 as the thread continuously travels past that member as it is being knitted, results in a moistening of the threads which has the effect of improving the quality of the fabric knitted and'makes it possible to run the machines faster and therefore to get a greater production. The water' escaping from spout 19 and from the lower end of chamber 16 is carried ofi' in any suitable manner, as by suitable gutters, functioning in a manner similar to funnels and pipes disclosed in my Patent No. 1,460,972. 1

What I claim is l 1. In an attachment for steam on knitting machines, a thread moistening device consisting of a cylindrical wall, an inlet opening into said wall for the admission of steam, an inner cylindrical wall having openings admitting steam to the central chamber, cap members enclosing the ends of the chamber between the two cylindrical walls, a plurality of means spaced from but supported by the said moistening device for guiding the thread to be moistened in a path directlyr over the central chamber from which the steam rises.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for supplying steam to a moistening device, of a moistening device consisting of spaced cylindrical walls having cap members closing the ends to form a closed annular chamber, a steam inlet member openingl into said chamber I an open central chamber, a

and adapted to be attached to the steamsupply means, a drain opening out of said chamber, means for allowing the steam to escape from the said annular chamber into cylindrical thread guiding chamber attached to and supported in spaced relation to the moistening device, said thread guide chamber having suitable thread guiding elements mounted in therends thereof, anda second thread guid- 10 ing element of similar material supported from the moistening device and in opposite relation thereto, said memberv being aligned With the first mentioned thread guiding member and positioned to guide the thread 15 through the path of the escaping steam from the moistening device.

OWEN F( MCENANEY.` 

